The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-10-30
THE CIPHER KEY In SHAKESPEARE.

THE CIPHER KEY In SHAKESPEARE.
Written for the Sunday journal by Charles Jacobs
A few months ago the literary world agi
tated by the announcement that Hon. Ignatius
Donnelly. formerly member of Congress from
Minnesota, and the author of two interesting
works, Atlantis" and 'Ragnar ok ;" had discov-
cred cipher key in some of Shakspeare's his
torical plays, which when deciphered proved that
Francis Bacon, the philosopher and essayiss of
the Eliza bethan era, was the anthor OF the
dramas that pass under the name of William
Shakespeare
This theory, the Baconian authorship Of the
plays was by means original with Mr.. Don
nelly, for volumes had before this been written
by various AUTHORSHIP establish it, one OF the
best being the work of Hon. Nathaniel Holmes,
formerly judge in one of the Missouri courts,
and afterwards a professor in the Harvard Jaw
school. The first to suggest doubt Of Shak-
American, in a little work entitled The Ro-
nance of Yachting" published in New York in
1S4S. But the theory of cipher key in the
Shakspearean dramas was originated by Mr.
Donnelly, aud he stated that he was led to in
vestigate the matter by a passage In the works
OF Lord Bacon himself.
And that your readers may be able to judge
for themselves of its Importance. here trans
scribe two passages from the essay. ION the
Advancement of Learning which are as fol-
lows. viz:
For ciphers they are commonly in letters alpha
bets but may be in words. The kinds of ciphers.
beside, the simple ciphers. with changes and inter-
according to the nature or rule Of the unfolding.
wheel ciphers, key cipbers doubles. etc. But the
tbree sv be to write and read
that they be impossible to declpher: and, IN some
eases that they be without suspicion The h,gae; St
undoubtedly possible with proportion quincuPle at
most of the writing Unfolding to the writing infoded
and no other restraint whatsoever.-Bacons Essays,
Chandee's edition, p. III.
Again
Another diversity of method there is, which hath
enigmatical and disclosed. The pretense whereof is
to the vulgar capacities from being admitted
lected auditors or wits of such sbarpness AZ can
pierce the veil".-Ibid. p. 223.
These are singular passages, and doubly so if
taken in connection with the following strange
sentence In his will:
My name and memory leave to foreign nations,
and to mine own countrynen after some years"
It is we'll known that Bacon and Shakespeare
were contemporaries and it has long been
argued that there was nothing in the personal
history character of William Shakespeare to
justify the claim that he was the author of the
dramas and poems that pass under his name.
Indeed. it is said that they were not claimed by
him as his own, that they not orr eina ally
published under his name, and that all we know
of the man only adds force to the assertion that
On the other hand it is asserted that Francis
Bacon was the only man of that who pos
sessed the talents and had the wide range of
learning and the scholarship requisite for their
production; and that he was the real author.
and William Shakespeare only the playwright
who adapted them for the stage; that for secret
secret and powerful reasons Bacon did not avow
his authorship during his life.
Upon these grounds the controversy has ragged
more or less violently for the past forty years,
and has broken out with greater violence than
hnpn 01iU hra rtn rvfA
the arena.
Up to the present date more than two hundred
and fifty different hooks and articles have beer
published on the Bacon Shakespeare controversy.
and Mr.. Donnellys book The Great Cryptic
gram" is now in press. and will soon be issued.
Prominent among these books. besides those
of Shakespeare playsi" by W. H. Smith. svo.,
1856; 'The Philosophy of Shakespeare Un-
folded" by Miss Della Bacon. 1857. and "Bacon's
Promus." edited by Mrs. H. Pott, 8vo.. 1888.
This latter is a collection made No from Bacon's
note books. and is very interesting The work
of Judge Holmes. already mentioned. was first
edition in two volumes was brought out Mr..
W. FL. Wyman, of Cincinnati, O.. published in
1884 THE Biography of the Bacon-Shakspeare
Controversy, embracing 255 entries, Of which
III were in favor OF Shakespeare as the author,
seventy three antI-Shakspeare and sixty live
were uncassifed. In view of which it may well
be remarked, ''adtruc sub JUDGE lis est"
AS an additional matter of interest. and by
way of adding fuel to the fire" Donnelly's
pouncement had kindled, it Is announced that
an ingenious gentleman in England has been at
work upon the epitaph on Shakspeares tomb
and that ne has found therein a cipher that
corroborates the Donnelly theory and establish
es that Francis Bacon wrote shakspeares
plays" The only statement of this
matter have seen is very
brief one. but says that the cipher adopted was
the omnia per omnia-one referred to in the essay
from which / have above quoted, and that its
working out had convinced some other gentleman
who had carefully gone over the process with a
view to ascertain it's correctness. And in order
to illustrate at least one method OF procedure
the following, the result of an hours study. may
serve to interest your readers. and suggest to
some ingenious one the way to reach more
perfect solution:
1t will De seen by reference to the extract
above given that Bacons preference is given TO
quincuple clpher-that is. where tho Unfolding
writing ia Ave times that of the infolded
Now for the epitaph 1t is very peculiar in
spelling and construction. From some OF the
words letters omitted, as in friend" (friend)
letters added. '.digg" for dig" line two,
and the words ending lines one and two. The
version of it as given in the Jewett- Collier edi-
ton of Shakespeare is as follows:
Good friend, for 1s IS sake z forsears
4 70 Digs {; the dust sH sp 6 here,
BEST be ys man It spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he vt moves my bones
Now number the letters off by fves, they
stand ABOVE 1nQicAteO, the N In ''0On0S,"
the last word oeinc ITO or % K s. Counting on,
however ILL., 112, to the end, and then begin
ming again with the first letter Of the first line
G., which is 113. We get second series of letters
for the multiples of five. lis to 100. and in the
last word .boues." the ''b" is 240. or A 5. and
the first letter. G. of the first line is 225, or
As 5. And this completes the circuit. for the
next multiple of (46 81. or $780, would be the
same as letter No. in the first line
Now, with a few minutes more work, the fol-
lowing table is readily constructed. viz:
1x5 EQUALS SKIS equals
IL 5 EQUALS r 81 5 equals A
80 5 EQUALS A 9x5 equals G
% S equals % S equals o
1875 equals @ "a K equals
% 5 equals I
26 5 equals
Making FRANCIS BACON" reading down in
the two columns
OF course, this result al il stands proves
nothing. the selection is arbitrary and the
law of the series, if there be one is not indi-
Gated. Still, it may be there. aud if there
some ones ingenuity will discover it If it has